Monday, March 14, 2011

Healthy Homemade Finger Food (HHFF) Idea: Butternut Squash Ravioli

Babies love to be independent and when it comes to learning to eat, nothing is more fun than watching your child try new healthy foods and feed themselves...Today, here is a very simple, yet yummy recipe for baby to try!

Soft and 'squidgy', this ravioli makes the perfect gummable finger food for tiny diners! You can, of course, substitute the butternut squash filling for another of your baby's favourite veggies - but we think this recipe looks great and tastes yummy just as it is!
2 oz (1/2 cup) flour (unbleached)
2 oz (1/2 cup) semolina flour
2-3 fl oz (1/3 cup) very warm water
1 tbsp olive oil
around 6 oz (3/4 cup) butternut squash, peeled, cooked and mashed
pinch of sweet paprika (optional)
Mix the flours together, then slowly add the oil and water, mixing well (this is easiest to achieve with a food processor set at the lowest speed).
The mixture should become a ball of dough - if it seems too dry, add a teaspoon of water at a time until a ball is formed.
Knead the dough thoroughly, then divide into two pieces.
Roll out each piece VERY thinly.
Stir the paprika into the butternut squash.
EITHER
Take heaped teaspoons of the butternut squash and place at intervals along 1 sheet of pasta.
Place the other sheet of pasta over the top and press down around the 'mounds' of butternut squash.
Next, cut around the butternut squash mounds with a very sharp knife.
Create a decorative edge for your ravioli by pressing all the way around the edge with the wet prongs of a fork.
OR
Splash out on some ravioli moulds.
They are inexpensive and make it much easier to create perfect ravioli shapes!
NEXT...
Bring a large pan of water to the boil, then carefully slide in your ravioli shapes (we find it best to cook just three or four at a time).
When the shapes rise to the surface of the water, they are ready. Carefully remove them with a slotted spoon.
Serve as they are - with a fresh tomato sauce for babies already enjoying tomatoes - or even with a sauce of another veggie puree thinned with a little stock!